VAE CINCINNATI

AN INTIMATE CHRISTMAS WITH VAE
2023-12-16 19:30 (America/New_York) | Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
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TREVOR KROEGER conductor
WITH QUEEN CITY CABARET
Escape the winter chill and the holiday rush at An Intimate Christmas with VAE, a cozy reimagining of our candlelit holiday concert. Conductor Trevor Kroeger will lead VAE singers, instrumentalists, and Queen City Cabaret in a program featuring fresh arrangements of favorite holiday tunes and unexpected choral gems. Join us for this warm and welcoming celebration of the most wonderful time of the year!
This concert is supported in part by the Crosset Family Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.
Need help? Contact the Box Office 513.381.3300 (M-F 10-5; Sat. 10-2)

HARMONY ACROSS TRADITIONS: An Evening with Isaac Cates
2024-01-27 19:30 | Zion Baptist Church, 630 GLENWOOD AVE., Cincinnati, OH, United States
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ISAAC CATES conductor
Program:

Lift Every Voice and Sing JAMES WELDON JOHNSON, arr. Rolond Corter
Striving After God UNDINE SMITH MOORE, ed. James Abbington
The Lord’s Prayer arr. ISAAC CATES
I’m Gonna Sing ‘Til the Spirit Moves in My Heart MOSES HOGAN
John 3:16 B.E. BOYKIN
Rest MICHAEL ENGELHARDT
It’s Working ISAAC CATES
Be Healed ISAAC CATES
Kontakion ISAAC CATES and NICHOLAS REEVES
Take My Life (Lacrimosa) ISAAC CATES
Ode V ISAAC CATES
Lovely Day words and music by BILL WITHERS and
SKIP SCARBOROUGH, orr. ROBERT T. GIBSON
Internationally renowned conductor and composer Isaac Cates will lead a diverse program of music highlighting contemporary, choral, gospel and folk music traditions, with each piece telling a story aimed at uplifting and connecting listeners to the music and to each other. Isaac has achieved international fame as an artist, composer, arranger, choral director, and educator, and is excited to share his own lived musical experience with our VAE audiences.
Need help? Contact the Box Office 513.381.3300 (M-F 10-5; Sat. 10-2)

Take Yourself With You
2024-02-03 19:30 | St. Catharine of Siena, 2848 Fischer Place, Cincinnati, 45211, United States
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LAUREN McALLISTER conductor
STEPHEN MICHAEL HANNA baritone
ELLEN GRAHAM mezzo-soprano
JACKIE STEVENS soprano
JASON VEST tenor
DAVID KIRKENDALL piano

Program:

H. LESLIE ADAMS To the Road! from The Wider View
M. C. RICHARDS Introit – Opening Song, from Angel Poems
EDWARD ELGAR Where Corals Lie, from Sea Pictures
ALEXANDER BORODIN Morskaja Carevna (The Sea Princess)
FANNY HENSEL Hörst du nicht die Bäume rauschen (from Gartenlieder, Op. 3)
MARC BLITZSTEIN I wish it so (from Juno)
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI Up-Hill
FANNY HENSEL Abendlich schon rauscht der Wald (from Gartenlieder, Op. 3)
SAMUEL BARBER Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
ERNEST BLOCH La Vagabonde (from Poemes d’Automne)
FRANZ SCHUBERT Wanderers Nachtlied I & II
ANDRÉ CAPLET Forêt (from Le Vieux coffret)
FANNY HENSEL Schöne Fremde (from Gartenlieder, Op. 3)
RABINDRANATH TAGORE Closed Path
CHARLES IVES The World’s Highway
FANNY HENSEL Morgengruss (WN 433)
LORI LAITMAN Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me
JOHN DUKE Wood Song (from Songs Out of Sorrow)
GERALD FINZI For Life I had never cared greatly (from I Said to Love)
FANNY HENSEL Im Wald (from Gartenlieder, Op. 3)
M.C. RICHARDS Behold
STEPHEN PAULUS The Road Home

Join members of the VAE for an exploration of the many roads we take to learn about ourselves, each other, and our place in the universe. Selections from Fanny Hensel, Samuel Barber, H. Leslie Adams, and Stephen Paulus combine with poems from Mary Oliver, M. C. Richards, and Bengali Brahmin Rabindranath Tagore to round out the program.Need help? Contact the Box Office 513.381.3300 (M-F 10-5; Sat. 10-2)

BACH B MINOR MASS
2024-03-09 19:30 | Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
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CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON conductor
Program:
BACH Mass in B Minor
Beloved Grammy-winner Craig Hella Johnson returns to conduct his final performances as VAE Music Director with a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s greatest work, Mass in B minor. Full of mystery and splendor, this oratorio is a cathedral of sound, and represents the culmination of Bach’s work throughout his life.
This concert is sponsored by the Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation and the William O. Purdy, Jr. Foundation Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation..
Need help? Contact the Box Office 513.381.3300 (M-F 10-5; Sat. 10-2)

BACH B MINOR MASS
2024-03-10 15:00 | Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
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CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON conductor
Program:
Bach Mass in B Minor
Beloved Grammy-winner Craig Hella Johnson returns to conduct his final performances as VAE Music Director with a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s greatest work, Mass in B minor. Full of mystery and splendor, this oratorio is a cathedral of sound, and represents the culmination of Bach’s work throughout his life.
This concert is sponsored by the Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation and the William O. Purdy, Jr. Foundation Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation..
Need help? Contact the Box Office 513.381.3300 (M-F 10-5; Sat. 10-2)

Salon Concert: Sun, Moon & Stars
2024-04-04 19:00 | Wilks Studio, Music Hall, 1241 Elm St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
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CHRISTIN SEARS conductor
Using music selections from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, David Childs, Laura Mvula and more, Sun, Moon & Stars explores stories of the human experience — life, longing, love and loss — through the wonders of our universe and the mystery and beauty that it holds.

THE WOUNDED HEART: Songs of Passion & Loss
2024-10-18 19:30 | Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
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BENEDICT SHEEHAN conductor
An evening of passionate choral works by Maddalena Casulana, Barbara Strozzi, Laura Hawley and Anna Olson, culminating in the world premiere of Benedict Sheehan’s The Passion of Mary, a new exploration of the Christian Passion narrative from the perspective of Jesus’ mother.

CANDLELIT CHRISTMAS DEC 21
2024-12-21 19:30 | The Summit Country Day School, 2161 GRANDIN RD., United States
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MATTHEW SWANSON conductor
VAE’s beloved Candlelit Christmas returns to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel at The Summit Country Day School. Music from across a thousand years is woven together into an unbroken tapestry of singing, all presented in contemplative candlelight. Hear the music of Judith Weir, Morten Lauridsen, Roderick Williams and other leading composers of today alongside the timeless plainchant and familiar carols of centuries past. Join VAE and fill the longest nights of the year with song.
Matthew Swanson will do a pre-concert talk at 7 pm before both performances.

CANDLELIT CHRISTMAS DEC 22
2024-12-22 19:30 | The Summit Country Day School, 2161 GRANDIN RD., United States

VOICES IN EXILE
2025-03-01 19:30 | Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
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ELENA SHARKOVA conductor
Throughout Russia’s tumultuous history, its government forced into exile scores of its best talent: composers, performers, writers, dancers and artists. Those who stayed were forced to work under brutal censorship and live in fear. The Voices in Exile concert illuminates and celebrates the strength, ingenuity and faith that kept composers such as Schnittke, Sviridov, Chesnokov, Gubaidulina and Rachmaninoff working despite the heartache of immigration and the darkness of the brutal regime. Life-affirming songs of faith and soul-searching laments are intertwined with poems by Pasternak, Tsvetayeva, Akhmatova and more.
Pre-concert talk:
Arrive by 6:45 PM for a 30-minute pre-concert talk by conductor Elena Sharkova.

Table of Contents: Chapters of a New Era
2025-10-05 15:00 | Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
Memorial Hall
SUN, OCT 5 at 3PM

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A new chapter begins. In his debut concert as Music Director, Joe Miller invites you to experience the soundscape of VAE, unfolding in five immersive chapters. In Chapter 1, Joe pairs the simple with the complex, challenging our patterns and norms of listening. Chapter 2 reflects on the classics of the repertoire, reminding us that we can’t look to the future if we don’t know where we came from. Hear a stained-glass window come to life in Chapter 3 before taking a deep dive into the highly emotional sonic world of Chapter 4. The final chapter ends in joy, with folk-inspired favorites that nod to Joe’s bluegrass roots.

An Italian Christmas: A Light in the Darkness - DEC 19
2025-12-19 19:30 | Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
Christ Church Cathedral
318 E. Fourth St
Cincinnati, OH 45202
FRI, DEC 19 at 7:30PM

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Journey back in time and across the globe as the voices of VAE guide you through the music of the Italian Baroque and Renaissance eras. The program’s three parts unfurl from the shadows of winter in a multi–sensory holiday experience unlike any other. Beginning in darkness surrounded by the most powerful organ sounds imaginable, voices, brass, strings and winds unite with the music of Dupré, Caccini, Palestrina and Gabrieli. Guerrero’s triple-choir grandeur and the music of Monteverdi and Corelli draw us closer to the source of light, building with the sound of Cincinnati’s own Verdin Bell. Gabrieli’s O Magnum Mysterium brings the journey to rest in awe and soul-stirring celebration.

An Italian Christmas: A Light in the Darkness - DEC 20
2025-12-20 14:00 | Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
Christ Church Cathedral
318 E. Fourth St
Cincinnati, OH 45202
SAT, DEC 20 at 2PM

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Journey back in time and across the globe as the voices of VAE guide you through the music of the Italian Baroque and Renaissance eras. The program’s three parts unfurl from the shadows of winter in a multi–sensory holiday experience unlike any other. Beginning in darkness surrounded by the most powerful organ sounds imaginable, voices, brass, strings and winds unite with the music of Dupré, Caccini, Palestrina and Gabrieli. Guerrero’s triple-choir grandeur and the music of Monteverdi and Corelli draw us closer to the source of light, building with the sound of Cincinnati’s own Verdin Bell. Gabrieli’s O Magnum Mysterium brings the journey to rest in awe and soul-stirring celebration.

To the Hands: Cutting Edge Art
2026-03-20 20:00 | Ballroom, Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
Ballroom, Music Hall
1241 Elm St.
Cincinnati OH 45202
FRI, MAR 20 at 8PM

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An evening of genre-defying music that blurs the boundaries between choral tradition, visual art and social reflection. Held in the strikingly intimate Ballroom at Music Hall, Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands invites listeners on a multi-media rich journey through the powerful exploration of displacement, belonging and shared humanity. Designed to resonate with both new and seasoned audiences alike, this immersive program delivers bold, boundary-pushing artistry that speaks directly to the world we live in today.

May Festival Presents | VAE: Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle
2026-05-19 19:30 | Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States
Christ Church Cathedral
318 E 4th St
Cincinnati, OH 45202
TUE, MAY 19 at 7:30 PM
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May Festival is pleased to feature the talent of Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble with Rossini’s charming Petite messe solennelle. Experience the mastery of this celebratory and entertaining cultural treasure under the direction of VAE’s new Music Director Joe Miller.
